Finaref's latest financing solution for its retail partners allows customers to buy a product online and pay for it later. The first partner to try out the new “click'n'buy” service is La Redoute, France's leading multi-product online merchant.

Internet sales continue to grow and currently generate more than 40% of La Redoute's turnover. As a specialist in financial services for distance sales, Finaref is committed to helping its partners develop their web-based business. Since the 1990s, Finaref has been pre-scoring La Redoute customers to offer them a “Kangaroo” credit card by phone when they place their online order. Now for the first time in France, Finaref is offering this immediate financing solution for purchases made through an online account, with a service called Cliquez-Achetez.fr ("click'n'buy").

This service is available directly on the La Redoute website, enabling all the retailer's customers - including those who do not have a Kangaroo card - to buy now and pay later. All they have to do is apply for a card by filling in a simple questionnaire that will pop up on the screen when placing their order. Applicants then obtain a reserve of €600 from Finaref to make their purchase. The novel feature is that both prospective and existing La Redoute customers can now use this service.

Nicolas Denis, Finaref"s Sales Director, explains: “We have simplified the application procedure by streamlining the decision-making process. Web-based services need to be very responsive to attract customers and transform browsing into buying. So we have given customers the opportunity of deferring their online purchases by making the process as simple as it would be in a brick-and-mortar store”.

The customer simply signs the contract that arrives with the goods. After acceptance by Finaref, he or she will receive a Kangaroo card and gain access to all the related services. Should the request for a Kangaroo card be denied, payment is made by credit card, because the customer will have provided their credit card details at the time of purchase.

Finaref is the first company to offer such a simple, rapid and secure online credit solution. “Cliquez-Achetez.fr” is the result of Finaref's unique expertise in pre-scoring, a process tailor-made for each Finaref partner. “Cliquez-Achetez.fr” has been available on the La Redoute website since 15 April 2008 (www.laredoute.fr). It can be adapted to any merchant website and is likely to be taken up gradually by all of Finaref's e-commerce partners.

Thanks to Finaref's leading position in branded credit cards, and its two partners - La Redoute and Fnac - who rank among the top five French online retailers in terms of numbers of visitors, “Cliquez-Achetez.fr” will be the most accessible consumer credit facility on the market - and the one best integrated into the partner company's communications strategy.

About Finaref. Finaref, a growth enhancing company, is part of Crédit Agricole S.A.Group's Specialised Financial Services. It is the leader in distance selling of financial products with two specific areas of expertise: consumer credit and insurance. Finaref has a portfolio of 6.7 million store cards, and works with market-leading retailers such as La Redoute, Vert Baudet, Daxon, La Fnac, Le Printemps, Surcouf, Le Club Med, Téléshopping, La Maison de Valérie, and Go Sport. Finaref also markets revolving credit directly to consumers through its Mistral and Challenger accounts, and offers and extensive range of personal loans and loan consolidation solutions. For more information, visit: www.finaref.fr or www.finaref.com